Luke from Ohio asks,
Hi Bill, I have been following you and Midwest whitetail since 2014 and I just want to say what a pleasure it has been to read your blogs and watch the story's unfold of chasing whitetails. The amount I have learned and was able to apply to my own hunting background is limitless, so thank you for spreading the knowledge from your experiences. My question was if you have or if you can do a review of your gear set up.. such as your bow, arrows, broadhead, sight, and the other accessories that you use to be successful. Thanks and hope to hear back from you. -Luke
Bill responds,
Topic: Winke Bow Setup:
Luke,
Thanks for the note and the support. I really appreciate it. Here is the gear list from last season. I will likely be shooting the RX7 this year, but my setup from 2021 was way more than adequate.
2021 Setup:
Bow: Hoyt RX4 Ultra (I like longer bows – will be shooting the RX7 Ultra this year, but any of Hoyt’s hunting bows are a good choice)
Sight: Fuse Vectrix Multi-Pin Sight (five pins – Green, Red, Green, Red, Green) – I just got used to those colors over the years
Rest: Hoyt UltraRest Integrate MX (I love this rest, arrow is always ready to go, never falls off)
Quiver: Fuse AlphaStrike XL (I carry 4 or 5 arrows and remove the quiver in the stand for easier shooting)
Arrows: Easton T64 Full Metal Jacket (These are weight forward shafts, they fly well for me but regular FMJ arrows are good too.)
Broadheads: Old, leftover Rocket Steelhead 100 grain or Wasp 1 1/4 inch Jak-Hammer (I like the accuracy of mechanicals, but stick with small cutting diameter heads for improved penetration)
Bowstring: America’s Best Bowstrings – ABB (Strings are a critical accessory. Fuse strings that come with Hoyt bows are very good too)
Stabilizer: Fuse 6 inch (the RX4 balanced pretty well without a stabilizer so this was optional)
Release Aid: Spot-Hogg Wise Guy Rigid (this is a very good release when using string nocking loops, excellent trigger tension)
Peep Sight: 1/4 inch G5 Meta Peep (I center the pin guard on the Fuse sight inside the peep when aiming)
Gloves: Cotton Jersey gloves (you can get these cheap almost anywhere. They allow the bow grip to slide around in my hand, helping reduce bow hand torque)
This is the bow setup I used in 2021. I did remove the sight and put it on a different bow since last season, but the rest of the parts are there. I believe that the perfect whitetail setup is geared for reliability and a mix between speed and penetration.
I try to focus on accessories that are simple and reliable. As whitetail hunters, long range accuracy is not a big issue as most shots are fairly close in the thick cover we often hunt.
But having a setup that is rugged and reliable is super important. Good luck. (7/20/22)
Thanks for the reply Bill I appreciate the feedback. Sounds like we will have somewhat similar setups this year as I also upgraded to the hoyt RX7 ultra with a fuse 3 pin flywheel slider sight (I haven’t made a decision on a new quiver yet). I agree with the accuracy of mechanical heads, but unfortunately I have had issues with them not opening up so I opted to shoot fixed QAD exodus the last couple of years with no issues yet. What is your view point on arrow weight and FOC? I know that is a big topic recently. I shoot the easton axis 5 mm and arrow weight is around 480 grains total.